Tough Tusks
by PinkyisABrain
Summary: When Cornelia Albu's brother, Florin, dies she is taken to Balkov Abbey to be trained until she is a top-level Beyblader. From the taking to the end of her Beyblading career, this fic will cover it all! I suck at summaries but give it a shot. Read and Review. Rated Teen for later chapters.


**Author's Note: I decided to edit this story a bit before reposting it on this account. First chapters are always the hardest, right? Trying to decide if I want this to be an OCxOC story or OCxTala. Not sure yet. I lean more towards OCxOC but we shall see.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Beyblade and this is purely a fan-created story based on EARLY Beyblade seasons.  
**

**Hope y'all enjoy the first chapter! Second chapter is in the works!  
**

The feeling of the wind slipping through the small open window of the room made its only live occupant shiver. Despite the fact that it was late spring the air was still practically freezing. Even though a blanket covered the tiny frame that resided in the corner of the room the cold always managed to chill to the bone. The sound of teeth chattering could be heard between sobs and echoed through the seemingly shrinking hovel.

Laying in the middle of the room, on a small bed of blankets, was a male around the age of eighteen. His hair was clipped close to his head in a buzz cut which barely showed its light blonde coloring. His normally pale skin was now turning an awkward color because, well, he was dead. The coldness of the room and his deceased state caused his skin to turn a bluish color as he lay in his plain clothes. A thin jacket that certainly didn't help fight the cold away from his skin when he was alive and pants of a similar material. If one had looked they would have seen a torn, sleeveless undershirt beneath the jacket. Nothing to fight the cold here nor would they have done him any good in his travels. His hands were loosely clenched and still in the odd positions on his chest. The right fist resided on top of his chest near the bottom of his clavicle while the left was pressed into the base of his sternum. Obviously he hadn't been touched since his death.

Another sob resounded through the room before the blanket was thrown off of the figure in the corner. A pair of chocolate colored pigtails bobbed as the dress covered body of a ten year old girl came from under the cloth. Large blue eyes, filled with tears, stared at the boy laying before them. She scrambled to the body and carefully reached out to touch his discolored hand. Immediately the chill rushed through her, quicker than any wind from outside, and she whined just a bit from the shock.

"You're already so cold, brother. Don't worry, I won't let you freeze," she stated to the silence before she curled up against the male's side. Her dress had little to no ability to keep her body heat from escaping into the air and even less ability to keep the chilled air out of her form. The dead boy next to her was already cold which only managed to make her tremble with cold as she curled her legs up and reached to hug the older male's torso.

She nudged his side a bit too hard and squeaked just a bit as his arm fell from its place near his throat. His loose left fist dropped from his chest as well having been knocked by the right arm as it flopped down. Both hands were knocked open as they hit the blanket covered floor. The brown-haired girl watched as a glimmering object broke free of his fingers. Something cold and obviously metal touched the girl's bare leg catching her attention quicker than its shining luster.

Quickly she shifted her brother's arms back into place before glancing down at the object in question. It was a weirdly shaped, thick piece of metal with some sort of etching made on it. There was a circle for the middle of the metal with a slightly raised section at the circle's edge before spreading into two flat, rectangular pieces on opposite sides of the circle. Carefully she picked up the curious thing before running her fingers, and eyes, over the symbol that was carved in the middle of the circular part of the shape.

"A…walrus?"

She remembered seeing the image of this animal at the library when she and her brother had managed to sneak past the front desk to steal a few of the precious books. He had been trying to teach her to read, without the help of a formal teacher, which had created the need for books. One book that they had tried to take was about a zoo. She remembered marveling at all of the animals that were drawn on the pages. Even though they had been caught and kicked out forever, those animals on the many pages had left their impression on her.

Smiling she glanced over the walrus with curious eyes. Why would her brother be carrying a piece of metal with a walrus on it? Was it a piece of jewelry or something? She wasn't sure and she knew that she couldn't ask him now. Holding it up to the dim light of the slowly dying bulb above them she turned the piece of metal over and over just enjoying the soft glint of it.

A sudden crash from the front of the barely-there house caused her to jump up to her feet once again.

With little thought she ran back to the closet, shoving her new treasure into her dress pocket as she went. Her hands shook as she pulled the door to the closet shut. She had no sooner gotten it closed completely when the door to the bedroom was opened with a loud bang. A small shiver ran up her spine as she heard the sounds of feet stomping into the room. They, a group of men, began yelling and snapping in a language she didn't understand.

_Foreigners?_

There was one thing she understood, her brother's name left their lips more than once. It was odd to hear Florin this and Florin that as the feet stormed around the room. How did her older sibling know these people? They sounded so brutal and the language they spoke sounded extremely harsh to her ears. What exactly had Florin been doing in the months he had been gone?

She had been questioning her brother's time away for quite a while now. Usually he would leave for a few weeks at the most. Never longer than a month. When he had come back four months ago he had told her that he'd found a way to get money and food for them.

_"It'll be a quick fix, Cornie. I'll be back as soon as I can with all the money you could want and food you never knew existed."_

That's what he had said. Florin always kept his promises but four months of begging and pick-pocketing had lead her to believe he wasn't coming back. Yet he'd shown up two weeks ago in terrible condition. He'd been sicker than she ever thought possible and she'd watched him die just that morning. A soft whimper passed from her lips before she could cover her mouth.

The talking in the room before her stopped.

With a loud slam the door to the closet was suddenly jerked open, letting a bang echo through the room as the door struck the wall behind it. With a yelp she scrambled to dodge the intruding hands of the foreigners as they tried to grab for her. She had little luck and, within a matter of seconds, she was pulled from her safe haven. Her wide eyes took in the sight of the strange men with even stranger outfits as she was tossed to the floor. Quickly she was surrounded while she rose to her feet.

The males were covered from head to toe in dark colors, never a good sign. Most of their faces were covered by shadows caused by the hooded robes they wore. Only two had their hoods back but they still wore the same colors and robes as the others. They encircled the girl as she stood there between them, her whole body trembling with fear. She had never seen people like these. Were they some new branch of police? Had Florin done something to get into trouble again? She was contemplating making a run for it when a gun was pulled from under one of the non-hooded male's robes.

He made what was obviously a demand of her but she couldn't understand the language. That is until the other uncovered man stepped forward.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" His voice was somewhat softer but still held the sharp edge to it as he spoke her native language.

Not ever being one to answer to any authority, except for Florin, the girl stuck her tongue out at the tall intruders. This only earned her a sudden pain on the side of her face as she was struck to the ground by the back of an open hand. She let out a small cry of pain and reached up to touch her swelling cheek. Fear rushed back into her tiny body as she felt tears leak from the corners of her eyes. She tried swiping them away before she was jerked back to her feet by the same man who had raised his hand to her.

"Answer when spoken to!"

She nodded.

"Good girl; now, who are you? Give me your name."

"Cornelia," came her quiet and shaky reply.

"Last name?"

"Al…Albu."

She was tossed back onto the floor with a squeak passing through her trembling lips. Her hands buried into the skirt of her dress and she stared up at the men with fear but also anger in her eyes. She watched as the ring of people shifted so that she could get a look at her brother once again. The next question brought a sudden confidence to her.

"Are you related to him?" The male motioned to the now deceased Florin.

"My brother," Cornelia stated while puffing her chest out a bit with pride. She loved her brother dearly and no matter what she would claim relation. Even if it meant death on her part. Of course, she realized that the gun that had been pointed in her direction was now gone. Maybe they wouldn't kill her after all.  
The men all began to smirk at her after she confirmed what they'd asked, which only served to send shivers up her spine. After the translator had relayed the message to the others in the group they began to leave. Two stayed behind and when the translator reached the door he turned back towards where Cornelia stood with her hands clenched firmly in her dress-skirt.

"Bring her with us."

Suddenly, there was a hand over her mouth and nose before the world went black around her.


End file.
